April 11, 2006

Volkart’s new post on track, but explanation lacks

Peace Corps cites rule on intra-agency memos to block information request

By Alan Panebaker
Ashland Daily Tidings

With a new Peace Corps assignment pending at the end of September, Ashland carpenter Derek Volkart is still unsure of why his invitation to serve the corps in Morocco was rescinded.

Volkart was denied the opportunity to serve in Morocco after referring to the U.S. administration as “fascist” in a Feb. 13 article in the Daily Tidings.

After the Tidings requested information pertaining to why Volkart was denied the position — on March 2 — the newspaper received a letter from the Peace Corps FOIA officer stating the requested information was protected under an exemption of the act.

The letter by Marianne Manheim — dated March 29 — states, “Redacted portions are being withheld under Exemption (b)(5) to protect intra-agency memorandums which would not be available by law other than to an agency in litigation with the agency.”

First, the Peace Corps denied access to Volkart’s file due to privacy concerns. When Volkart waived these rights, the corps responded with e-mails between Volkart and Peace Corps officials, but he received no explanation of why his invitation was rescinded besides an e-mailed statement from Chief of Operations for the Europe, Mediterranean and Asia Region. The statement read, “Peace Corps has rescinded its invitation to you to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco for programmatic and foreign policy concerns.”

The Tidings will appeal its latest FOIA request to push for further information that has been denied — written internal communication, including e-mails, regarding Volkart and the summary of a communication between Volkart and Joye Wagner with the Peace Corps. Wagner was Volkart’s placement officer.

In the meantime, Volkart has accepted a position with the Peace Corps Agroforestry Extension program in Paraguay. His pre-service training begins Sept. 28.

As he supports the Tidings in its effort to find further information regarding his sudden denial into the Morocco program, Volkart maintains he is not bitter with the Peace Corps.

“I’ve worked for the federal government long enough to realize that there’s a mix of individuals,” Volkart said. “It’s not black and white. There are shades of gray.”

He said he believes there are good people in the Peace Corps who may have realized he was getting a raw deal and offered different options. His enthusiasm for the Peace Corps has not changed.

“It’s a good time to be serving other communities around the world and representing the U.S. in a positive light,” Volkart said.